Look Inside Fruit

Materials

• three fruits with different types of seeds and pits (perhaps kiwifruit, peach, cherries, avocado, or melon); do not include citrus fruits—these are featured in the next activity, “Compare Citrus Fruits”
• pre-cut pieces of the three fruits  
• magnifying glasses

Key Science Concepts

• Many of the foods we eat come from plants.
• We eat certain leaves, roots, fruits, and seeds.
• Fruits have seeds.

Vocabulary

Encourage children to use words relating to plants like fruit, seed, and pit, and science process words like observe and compare.

Directions

1. Have children wash their hands.
2. Pass the fruits around. Ask:
   • Have you seen these fruits before?
   • Have you ever eaten them? What did they taste like?
   • What do you think we’ll see inside if I cut this (peach) in half?

3. Show children the pre-cut slices and point out the seeds in each fruit.
4. In small groups, give children pre-cut slices of fruit and invite them to examine the fruits and their seeds. Encourage children to pull the seeds out, observe them with magnifying glasses, count them, and compare them with other seeds. Children may eat their own piece of fruit, or you may want to set some pieces aside for snack time.

Reflect and Share

Discuss the fruits and seeds you just compared. Ask:

• How were the (melon and peach) different from each other?
• What is something that is similar about all three fruits?
• Did we see any pits? What do you think is the difference between a seed and a pit? 

Have children draw the three fruits and their seeds.